Amusement and exercising device



May 7, 1935. A, HT'RE 2,000,250

AMUSEMENT AND EXERCISING DEVICE Filed April 18, 1953 3nventor H 5f I Andi-0 Piire MAMM (Ittomegv Patented May 7, 1935 UNITED STAT PATENT OFFICE 12 .Claims.

invention relates to recreational devices of a type designed to 'test and develop the physical agility and skill of the user. a

In its broad concept the invention comprehends :apparatus having a moving or movable element designed 'to be trod upon by aperson using the device. The movement or movaLbility of :thedevice is :such that walking or running, :or even standing on the apparatus :entails the exercise of considerable dexterity --and --a good sense of'balance; the degree "of proficiencyrequired to successfully use the deviceidep'ending in a great part on the nature and speed of movement which :is :imparted to the apparatus, either by the operator himself or some associated --means. The specific embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing and described herein includes a rotating, horizontalsubstantially -cylindrical member disposed in the neighborhood of the surface \of a swimming pool. "The device may of course be used with some other cushion 'ing or safety :device in lieu of a swimming pool, such as anet-or mat, or even, if the's'kill -of the user :makes it permissible, withno safety device beneath the rotating cylinder. 0

have been shownfor positively -drivin the rotating member, either constantly or ata variable speed, but :the :apparatus is also intended zforxuse without-a mechanism, in which case :the :rotary member is :freely. movable on its ;axis and .is actuated by the :user rhimself hymovement of his feet thereon :as {if .heiwere running in adirectiomtransverse to .tihfizfiiXiSz-Qf the .cylinder.

fllhenovel features which I believe to be:cha-racteristic of .my inventionare-set forthwith particularity .in .the appended claims. My ,invention itself, both as to .its organization and method of operation, will best he understood by reference to the following description .taken'in connection with the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure l is a side elevation of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, Figure "2 is a View 'of onetype of device "for automatically varying the speed of rotation "of "the driving motor, and I i 'Figure 3 is a view of a resiliently *mounted bearing -means for the rotatable treading 'member.

In the embodiment -:of my invention shown in -Figure 1, .a substantially cylindrical rotatable member I 0 whose axis qdisposed substantially horizontally ,is zshownidriven -:by :a motor 12,:said motor being coupled to the member 1110 ain idriving relationship by means of a belt 13 and pulleys =14. The member lll rests in bearings which are mounted in the framework of the supporting structure, *said structure serving as a means of ready access to the treading surface of the rotating member 41) by users -of the device, as Well as serving as a housing for a portion of the rotating *member and its associated machinery necessary to drive same. Associated with 'the motor is a device [5 for automatically varying the speed of rotation of "the motor. This device is shown -more in detail in Figure 2 and will be hereinafter described. The top 'of the housingservesas-a stand on which -a single user or a number may gather to approach the rotatable treadle. L'he approach it comprises a horizontal plane surface disposed immediately above the rotatable tread member.

"The member [0 presents a treading surface upon --which the user stands or walks with the object in view of balancing himself in order to keep *from beingthrown or slipping -f-rom'the member. "This member which is substantially cylindrical in form, may be comparatively small in diameter or fairly large in diameter depending 'upon the comparative skill of the persons by whom it is- 'to be used. It would naturally be made larger "for children than for adults. The surface'of the member should {be covered w'holly or in part with a sponge like or shock absorbingmaterial 20, which obviatesthe possibilityof injury when the user falls or slips.

fiWhile member lilisshown coupled :to driving means, it is clear that it will also entail skill and agility to use #the device even though the member be so -mounted as to be freely rotatable in its bearings and subject to the turning effect resulting from the user treading as though walking transversely of the axis of the member. For this reason I have shown means touncouple the driving motor, which comprises'a-n idler pul- 'ley 11 mounted immediatelyyad jacent one of the'dri-ving pulleys l5 and serving to hold the belts-P3 in position to-be slipped back in driving relationship to the member H1 at will.

It is obvious that it will entail the exercise of a sense of balance to walk along the longitudinal axis of the member to whether it is being rotated by means of the driving motor or is'f-reeto rotate "in its bearings. 'Some means are desirable to determine the comparative skill 'of exercisers. l his skill is naturally greater in those .who .-1traverse .the greatest distance with- :out' falling. Eor this :purpose :the p eriphery of the member as may be marked on I longitudinally tached thereto a disk-shaped member 2| in one of Whose faces is cut a cam slot l8. An arm 19 is provided with al follower'for engaging the cam slot 8. This arm actuates a pivoted member 22 which wipes acrossthe face of a resistance 23, the resistance being, connected in the field of the driving motor. v,Thusthe speed of the motor and the member l0 may be governed automatically by the variation of the field excitation of the motor in a predetermined manner. By appropriately shaping the slot in member 2| we may get any desired velocity curve. The specific means of automatically varying the speed of the member I0 is merely for example and of course any suitable speed control mechanism may be employed.

As a further test of the skill of the user, the member I 0 may be mounted in bearing members attached to the housing in such a manner that the bearing itself is not rigidly fixed, but is resiliently mounted in such fashion that any change in inertia of the member I will cause the bearing to change position either latorally or vertically thus causing a lightly or highly damped motion of member in a lateral or vertical direction. Figure 3 illustrates such a bearing. Again, the specific resilient mounting shown is by way of example only.

The action of the devicemay be summed up as follows: The user advances to the top of the housing by means of a ladder-like structure 24, he walks out upon the approach member l6 from which he may easily step down onto the periphery of the rotatable member, the object being either to see how long he can keep his balance on the treading surface before falling from the member or to see how far along its surface he can go without slipping or falling. Of course the driving means may be disassociated with the tread member and several persons may try to unbalance each other by rotating the member by their treading action. a

I do not wish to be limitedto the exact form hereinbefore described, as there are many modifications which might be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims. I a

What I claim is: l

1. An amusement or exercising device comprising a rotatable member presenting a treading surface to the user, and means for rotating said member at a predetermined varying velocity. p 2. An amusement'or exercising device comprising a rotable member presenting a treading surface to the user, and means for rotating said member at a continuouslyvarying velocity.

3. An amusement or exercising device comprising a substantially cylindrical memberpresenting a treading surface on the periphery thereof, said member having its axis disposed substantially horizontally, and means for rotating said member at a predeterminable varying velocity.

4. An amusement or exercising device comprising a substantially cylindrical member presenting a treading surface to the user on its exterior face, said member having its axis disposed substantially horizontally, and means for rotating said member at a continuously varying velocity.

5. A recreational device including a substantially cylindrical member disposed with its axis substantially horizontal and presenting a treading surface to the user on its external face, motor means for rotating said member, and means "associated with the driving shaft of said motor ing a rotatable member presenting a treading surface to a user, electric motor means for rotating said member and means mounted on the shaft of the motor for effecting the variation of the voltage supplied to said motor in a predetermined manner.

8. A recreational or exercising device comprising a substantially cylindrical member presenting a treading surface to a user upon its exterior, said member having its. axis disposed substantially horizontally, electric motor means for rotating said member andmeans mounted on the shaft of the motor for effecting the variation of the voltage supplied to said motor in a predetermined manner.

9. A recreational or exercising device comprising a rotatable member presenting a treading surface to a user, electric motor means for rotating said member, a disc mounted on'the shaft of the motor having a cam slot cut in one of its faces, a rider adapted to follow said slot, said rider controlling means to vary the voltage supplied to the motor.

, 10. A recreational or exercising device comprising a substantially cylindrical member with its axis disposed substantially horizontally, said member presenting a treading surface upon its exterior, electric motor means for rotating said member, a disc mounted in operative relationship to the shaft of the motor to be rotated thereby, a slot cut in a face of the disc, said slot curving in such a manner as to be re-entrant upon itself, a rider adapted to follow said slot, said rider being operatively connected to means for varying the voltage supplied to the driving motor.

11. A recreational or exercising device'including a rotatable member presenting a treading surface to a user, motor means for rotating said member, a disc mounted in operative relationship to the motor shaft for rotating the disc, said disc having a slot cut in its face, said slot curving in such a manner as to be re-entrant, a rider adapted to follow said slot, a pivoted arm attached to the rider, the other end of the arm controlling the moving member of a potentiometer, said potentiometer-serving to control'the voltage supplied the driving motor.

12. A recreational or exercising device including a substantially cylindrical member presenting a treading surface upon its exterior and disposed with its axis substantially horizontally, electric motor means for rotating said member, a disc mounted in operative relationship to the motor shaft and rotated thereby, said disc having a slot out upon its face, the slot curving'in such a manner as to be re-entrant, a rider adapted to follow said slot, at pivoted arm attached to said rider, the end of the arm opposite the rider controlling the moving member of a potentiometer, said potentiometer serving to control the voltage supplied the driving motor.

ANDRE PI'I'RE. 

